It's still very early to tell, but Peter Goodman made a strong case for being a boxer to watch at this year's Daily News Golden Gloves tournament.

Goodman (Yonkers YMCA), 23, absorbed some of Drew Deutschen's best shots in the first round of their 165-pound novice bout at St. Lawrence Rec Center in Hillburn, but figured things out in the latter rounds with some stellar lateral movement that kept Deutschen (Champs BC) neutralized.

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"I need to work on my wind, be more under control, be more calm," said Goodman, the P.C. Richard and Son Boxer of the Night. "This year I'm throwing more punches. I have good movement, but I need to throw more punches. That's what amateurs is about."

It wasn't his cleanest fight, but Michael Hughes (Mendez BC) seems to be back in championship form. The 141-pounder and former novice champion won his second consecutive bout in 2015 with a convincing 3-0 victory over Terrell Bostic (Heavy Hitters BC). Hughes normally relies on precision to get through his nine minutes of action, but from what he knew about his opponent, it was important to stay aggressive, even if it meant landing fewer cleaner punches.

"I was so caught up in realizing that he couldn't take my power and knew that pressure beats him," Hughes said. "It was all about go. Green light, go. No speed limit, go. Stay on him. Toward the third round, I heard him breathing heavily and knew he couldn't keep me back."

Advancing into the 141-pound open finals along with Hughes will be Cesar Francis (Fight Factory BC), who took a tight 2-1 victory over Christian Otero (Unattached) in the first bout of the afternoon. Otero showed some early frustration, especially after losing his mouthpiece twice. And although Otero appeared to be the aggressor throughout the match, Francis landed cleaner punches and came out on top in the Applebee's Bout of the Night.

"He was really strong. I just kept my jab out and let the jab control the fight," Francis said. "It feels so good to get one in (after getting a bye on opening night)."

Wayne Malkin (Mendez BC) stopped Jarlath Cox (Amerikick Fusion) 1:37 into the third round of their 165-pound novice bout with help from the Empire City Casino Punch of the Night.

The 88th annual Daily News Golden Gloves continues on Tuesday at Pac Plex Center in Brooklyn. The 132-pound, 165-pound and super heavyweight novices will all climb between the ropes.